Manila tricycle drivers to start working as food delivery riders

Around 500 tricycle drivers in Manila who were unable to work amid the enhanced community quarantine landed new jobs as food delivery riders.

According to Raffy Tima's Monday report on 24 Oras, the tricycle drivers were tapped to deliver food in the city after the city government partnered with a food delivery company.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said this would greatly help tricycle drivers who had been out of work for the past two months.

“With tricycle drivers, they’ve been there for quite some time so they even know to a point who they are going to deliver it to because they are familiar with the house, the address because these are regular customers,” he said.

“The new normal seems to be that there is a continued demand for delivery services and we need to ensure that the supply of riders is going to be adequate. At the same time,  there are limited income opportunities for the people within those communities so it's a very happy (partnership),” Daniel Marogy, managing director of Food Panda Philippines, added.

The first batch of tricycle drivers had completed the needed seminar and had signed their contracts.

Moreno said the first 120 tricycle drivers would start deliveries on Tuesday, May 12.

For Moreno, the project is a big help to the city government because the drivers have been idle for too long.

“We have to move on. We cannot allow stagnation because hibernation, stagnation does not give you any result. In moving, there’s a probability of high success and high failure. I would rather take that journey on moving in or on,” he said. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/DVM, GMA News